Management Accounting's Diminishing Post-Industrial Relevance: Johnson and Kaplan Revisited

Abstract

Abstract Johnson and Kaplan (1987) claim that management accounting's minimal post 1925 development reduces the relevance of traditional techniques to today's giant corporations. Their argument does not draw on the structural and micro-economic consequences of technological change this century. An alternative explanation of technical stagnation lies in the rising dominance of small service firms. Economic exchanges through the market place have increased relative to the volume of exchanges within large hierarchies. The conventional focus of management accounting research and teaching is problematic because of a fundamental misconception of the location and nature of accounting and other work.